Ginsberg, league debate StarCaps

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on September 15, 2009, 11:02 PM EDT

Earlier tonight, the lawyer representing the Saints players who, thanks to a pair of Vikings players, have avoided for now a four-game suspension for taking StarCaps, an over-the-counter supplement that had been spiked with Bumetanide, a prescription diuretic and a substance banned by the NFL’s anti-doping policy.

More recently, the lawyer representing the Vikings players has spoken.

“For two years, the NFL did not punish NFL players who were detected with
Bumetanide in their system as a result of taking StarCaps,” said attorney Peter Ginsberg, who represents Kevin and Pat Williams. “Then, Commissioner
Goodell arbitrarily changed the NFL’s handling of such cases. While we applaud
the decision not to suspend the Saints players for their use of StarCaps, it is
unfortunate that Commissioner Goodell is still ignoring the injustice he did to
others who took the supplement while the NFL was hiding the fact that the
product contained a potentially lethal substance. Commissioner Goodell’s
decision not to punish the Saints players addresses just the tip of the iceberg
when it comes to the NFL’s manipulation of what should be — and could be — a
constructive steroid program.”

“The key problem with Mr. Ginsberg’s contention is that it ignores the facts, as two federal courts have confirmed,” Aiello said. “Simply put: Nothing was hidden. The union was told about StarCaps and it shared the information the very next day. Players have been warned not to take supplements for years and were specifically warned not to take weight loss supplements like StarCaps. Mr. Ginsberg’s effort to rewrite history does not change those facts.”

So, basically, this controversy is going to continue to percolate. Eventually, a Minnesota court will have to decide whether the suspensions of the Vikings players will be upheld. The outcome will directly affect whether the Saints players are suspended.

With all the talk of the Vikings being candidates to move to Los Angeles, is there any chance the NFL would throw in the towel and just move out of Minnesota all together? It seems the NFL rules work in 49 of the 50 states.
Of course this doesn’t help MLB, NBA or the NHL which each apparently have the same problem.

NFL releases a list of approved substances.
Should simply say “use of a supplement not on this list will lead to disciplinary action if it is found to have substances forbidden by the doping policies.”

The wheels of justice turn so slowly.
Eventually these guys who did the crime will have to serve the time.
Cheaters never prosper.
Maybe by then these fat boys will learned to control what they put in their mouths and not have to cheat and con in their attempts to lower their excessive weight.

I think it’s a dead issue.
They are treating the Williams Wall like criminals abusing steroids. They took a weight loss supplement.
Pretty harmless if you ask me. The NFL has just became bitter because they didn’t get their way.
Drop it, move on and enjoy the season.

What atheltic advantage does a fat burner give?Has anyone taken these things? I mean they only work for like 10 minutes and after a bottle you dont get anything out of them. I wonder if they are allowed to take a simple protein shake?

Bob Nelson says: September 16, 2009 2:04 AM
The wheels of justice turn so slowly.
Eventually these guys who did the crime will have to serve the time.
Yea we are all patiently waiting for Jolly to serve his time as well.

“Earlier tonight, the lawyer representing the Saints players who, thanks to a pair of Vikings players, have avoided for now a four-game suspension for taking StarCaps, an over-the-counter supplement that had been spiked with Bumetanide, a prescription diuretic and a substance banned by the NFL’s anti-doping policy.”
Correct me if I am wrong, but this isn’t even a sentence. I read it 20 times, and it still doesn’t make sense…what does the lawyer representing the Saints do in this sentence.
Nice run on Florio. You should do a sentence diagram of this and let me know where the predicate is.

For any of you lawyers out ther, since the loophole they are using applies to Minnesota law only, couldn’t the NFL suspend them from playing in another state like Ohio or Wisconsin where Minnesota law would not have jurisdiction?
If that doesn’t work and I was Goodell I would simply go to Wilf and say do not play those guys for the next 4 games or good luck getting any support from the NFL when it comes to your stadium or revenue sharing.

Florio,
The NFL spokesman, Greg Aiello, is full of poop. His comments were intentionally misleading, and I’m more than a little disappointed that you didn’t call him out on it.
He said:
————————-
“Nothing was hidden. The union was told about StarCaps and it shared the information the very next day. ”
The problem:
————————-
The NFL didn’t tell anyone about Starcaps containing a potentially lethal substance for more than 2 years. Sure, AFTER 2 years of keeping silent, they did tell the Union, and the Union told the players, but this was AFTER Goodell decided to suspend the players. So, Greg Aiello is basically pulling a PR trick of lying by telling only the facts that support his cause, and intentionally misleading everyone, which you happily posted to the masses, apparently without much thought.
Where is did the journalist in you disappear to Mike?
Did it leave when the NFL started sending you paychecks?
$0.02,
–Z

It seems to me that this whole mess started when a season ticket holder who just happened to be the judge didn’t want his beloved Vikings to miss the playoffs. (Ok, they made the playoffs and promptly lost, at home, to a Wild card team)
The NFL should continue to uphold the rules and enforce the rules equally across all 32 teams. So when the courts finally rule, then impose the suspensions.
Same goes for Johnny Jolly, if and when his due process (for the ignorant Viking fans, that term basically means he is owed his day in court, not guilty until “proven” otherwise) has been completed. (for the record, the DA dropped the charges)

For the record, regarding Johnny Jolly –
The dismissal stems from police awaiting new equipment that measures codeine amounts. “Once they receive that training (on how to use the equipment), the case will be refiled,” a D.A. spokesperson said. “Hopefully that will be within the next 90 days.” Jolly remains at risk of NFL suspension.
Sounds like he’s off the hook completely, right Jimmy?